Oksana Grigorieva Black Eye Photo Questioned

Oksana Grigorieva's accusations of domestic violence may or may not be backed by witnesses who she says saw the argument in which Mel Gibson hit her.

Until that happens, however, much of the "evidence" she claims implicates the actor remains suspect - including the new photo of Oksana with a black eye.

The fact that the photo surfaced just this week is odd.

According to sources close to the situation, the idea that Oksana held back the photo on purpose during the couple's custody mediation in May is "absurd."

As one source said, "She produced photos of her mouth showing the damage to her veneers, she testified in great detail about the January 6 incident."

"If she had a black eye she would have said it."

So is she exaggerating or lying about the attack and fabricating evidence? That seems to be the implication, at least from this particular TMZ source.

The insider says, on the financial end, Oksana "held every piece of damaging evidence" over his head - notably the now-infamous Mel Gibson tapes.

That produced a $15 million deal she agreed to but later left on the table. The source said, "If there was a black eye it would have been $16 million."

Also, the settlement included a confidentiality agreement, meaning it would have done Oksana no good to withhold evidence she could never use.

Even more glaring doubts are cast by medical professionals.

Oksana supposedly emailed her lawyer about the attack right afterward, but sources also say the day after the alleged incident, Oksana's dentist never mentioned a black eye. Two days later, a pediatrician she saw also failed to observe it.

This doesn't prove Mel is innocent, and regardless, the man needs serious help. But it does cast doubt on some of Oksana's statements and motives.